The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1887-02-24
FICTION IN POLITICS.

the Presidents Message.
There is ordinarily little use in pay
ing any attention to political announce
ments unless the evidence is conclu-
sively given. The art of correct state
ment in print about leaders and parties
has disappeared from almost every
newspaper. If a politician says thing
himself in letter or speech that is
one thing. If in any journal, which
he can not be suspected of making his
medium, an announcement is made
concerning him, the announcement
may be accepted as certainly incorrect.
No list of current inaocuries can be
made complete. A few signal ones,
however, can be referred to.
Shortly after Mr.. Tilden's death, for
instance, writer on the New York
San, A. M. Gibson, said that Mr.. Till
den had mailed to President Cleveland
copy of his (Mr. Tilden's) letter on
coast defenses, which was formally id-
dressed to Speaker Carlisle. Mr.. Glib
son said: '.Mr. Tilden read to me the
letter himself and in my presence dis
patched a copy to Mr.. Cleveland"
This was written long after the letter
had become public, and shortly subse-
quent to Mr.. Tilden's death. The in
tention was to acquit Mr.. Tilden of the
charge that had been brought against
him at the time of the publication of
the letter, to the effect that he had
taken a good deal on himself in ad-
dressing Congress through the Speak
er, in advance of the Presidents mes
sage, on National subject, over the
Presidents head. Mr.. Tlden had never
met the charge. John Bigelow, Man
ton Marble and Andrew II. Green had
never refuted it. They were the men
of all men who would be expected to
do so, for they did much of Mr.. Til
denis writing business for him. G. w.
Smith, Mr.. Tilden's secretary, has
never met that charge. A. M. Gibson
sought to meet it with an explicitness
that was unmistakable. His statement
was accepted and commented on ad-
versely to Mr.. Cleveland by all the anti
Cleveland papers, among which was
many a paper that had been anti-Til-
den, until it could use mock respect
for Tilden as a club with which to hit
Cleveland.
The fact that the men reported to be
nearest to Mr.. Tilden never dealt with
this matter has been referred to to at
tach to Mr.. Gibson's statement this ap-
pendix: Mr.. Cleveland never received
any copy of that letter from Mr.. Til
den or any one else. The first he ever
saw of it was when he opened the
morning papers and found it in them
The authority for this statement is the
President himself. He is not liar.
He is not dead. No one need wait un-
til after his death to deny that he re-
ceiyed it or inquire of others than he
whether he ever received it. Hs Il
alive. He can be asked any time.
This declaration is made without any
design of rejecting on A. NJ. Gibson'f
certainty that he saw the letter mailed
to Mr.. Cleveland. 1t may have mis-.
carried. The man to whom it was in
trusted for mailing may have lost it
The only thing that is surely fact in
the case is that Mr.. Cleveland never
received that letter. He never
adopted and never has concerned him.
self about the theory of having beer
sighted by the fact of the letter mo-
having been sent to him. Small sug
gestions do not affect him. But he ha.
an opinion of that comment which ha,
been based on the allegation that hs
did receive the letter and took no no
tice of it.
Another statement has been as posi-
lively made to the effect that the Presi
dents sister, Miss r. E. Cleveland
wrote that part of his first messag
about Mormonism. The statemen
was made in a way to be offensive t.
the President and the lady. 1t coult
not have been more positively mad
had it been made by either or both o
them. 1t was and is an an absolutel,
truthless statement. The lady knew
nothing about that or any other par
of the message until she read it in tn
papers. Intrinsically the statement
true or false, was unimportant. Nor
ally it has the character which any en-
tirely false declaration, large or small
has. The squibs, slurs, argumenta
tions and overt or covert sneers bull
up on this often-reiterated lie have no
been few. They are multiplied con
stantly. A quiet man in Washing
ton and a studious lady at Hollan,
Patent know at least two things: One
that the statement is an untruth; two
that those who originate it and period
ically reissue it are aware that it is Al
| untruth. Of that impurity of the min'
which lie denotes, they also have a
opinion.
AS often and as specifically as the tw
declarations indicated are made appear
another to the effect that Mr.. DAME
!, Manning developed Grover Cleveland a
candidate for Governor at Syracuse, il
1882, and elected him to the office
Mr.. Manning controlled the Alban
= delegation at that convention. Th
delegates voted against Cleveland o
every ballot from first to last in ths
f convention-ohe man excepted, Rufu
w. Peckham, who insisted on voting fo
5 him and who did it alone. The eleve
others voted for Slocum on every bal
lot, including the last, pursuant to
promise Mr.. Manning made t
; General Slocum in Albany befor
3 the convention. Every daily in thi
State had the ballots in it onrSeI
Q tember %, 1882. They will tell th
n story. Yet nearly every daily wi
d continue the declaration which thos
ballots confute to the end of tim,
!, Journalism seems to be the calm
: which is based on forgetfulness and il
5 spired by imagination, just as s.
Ashley Cooper said medicine was base
r on conjecture and improved by mul
e der.
d Again, just before Congress last me
:, the report was well-nigh universal ths
Senator Vest had read the riot act I